Rosterman

I would stop by and see Tony every year at the Minnesota State Fair. He would always kid about me having too many of his autographs, and I would say that keep finding new images for him to sign. He loved posing for photos with kids...and fans. But my favorite is seeing him out on the wiffle ball diamond, pitching to kids who have no idea who he is, while adoring parents took pictures. I hope the Twins have treated him really well for all opf his ambassador duties and his stay in Minnesota, which has been his life in baseball! And gald he can now be a Hall of Famer with all that will bring to him and his family's future!

If this is true, would've done it jsut for payroll relief, and to open up more at bats for Drew Maggi. That the Twins weren't able to also unload Pineda or Colome speaks highly of the free-agent class of 2021.

Twins signed two guys who will be in FSL camp come spring - C Javier Roman and INF Isaac Pena, both recent high school grads.

If I did, I would definitely trade him to the Yankees if they came calling again mid-season.

I'm sory, you still need rotation arms that can do two things. One, get you beyond five innings a good chunk of the time. Also, it is nice if a pitcher can do 30 starts minimum and the ideal rotation is at least four arms that can pitch 150+ innings, to keep the bullpen effective. Sadly, few of the prospects outside of Ober will even pass 100 innings in 2022. But there is enough arms on the 40-man that you can run the St. Paul shuttle. Depending on how much you feel they have to pitch competitive in St. Paul.

John Gant goes where the money is: Japan! https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/12/john-gant-signs-japan-npb-nippon-ham-fighters-cardinals-twins.html

You can never have too many coaches, I guess. I always wondered how coaches coach those making millions more than they! And is there a stigma with prospects who work with coaches that "never really did make it big in the big leagues" telling them how to do things or make adjustments. The real secret of success is coaching in the minors, and very glad he Twins have expanded the coaching rosters at each level, beside extensive use of coordinators for different aspects of the game, working out of Ft. Myers. And the Twins have also been generous with keeping vet talent like Oliva and Carew and even Hrbek, not to mention T.K., sometimes Steinbach, Hunter and Hawkins coming to camps and working with player skillsets.

Who starts at second at AAA St. Paul. The Twins still need to solidfy positions for Martin ^ Lewis. too. And decide if Palacidos will be apt of the team going forward.

We still have to think of the Twins finances...the team that has said in the past that it will cap spending as close to 55% of revenue as possible. Now, remember, the lost 2020 season, where Minnesota graciously paid ALL minor league players their stipend, which in itself was pretty good for the guys as they could live at home (or most of them could). They also kept the majority of staff on payroll. Plus, as most teams, had to make up for revenue lost in advertising sales to non-existent fans in the stands,m yearbook and magazine sales, signage and such. Some of those rolled over into less advertising revenue for 2021. And 2021 still showed signs of suffering with reduced fans and concessions and sales overall of MLB stuff. So, teams did, in many ways, take a hit (as did players, and msot all of us fans). Yes, the worth of the team overall continues to grow and grow, and if the Twins have a sharpo financial management team they can offset 2020/21 losses against 2022 profits.

Moises Gomez signs with the Brewers after a couple of seasons in the Mariners system. He played for the Twins 2014-2019, only reaching High-A ball briefly. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=gomez-002moi

Twins lose Gabriel Maciel in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 daft to the A's. He was part of the haul the Twins got for Eduardo Escobar back in 2018.

A player that could've been included in a trade package...to the A's.

I doubt a Rule 5 guy would be your starting shortstop, and the Twins, right now, need a stopgap between now and tomorrow. The Twins are even facing a problem right now. Who is the starting shortstop at AAA St. Paul. Palacios, Lewis, Martin? Do you give up on any and make a moe permanent position change? Does Javier go to AA just because it is his next step? How many guys like J.T. Riddle and Matt Magill do the Twins sign for 2022 as a stopgap or backup if Gordon and whomever doesn't cover SS for the Twins? Rule 5 picks work best for rebuilding teams, adding someone who can play in a losing environment and be that 25th/26th player with some skillset that might develop into more in the 2023 or 2024 season at worse.

Ultimately, if a starter, are they better than Jax or Thorpe, in need of a major league job more than barnes of Smeltzer, and show more promise that Strotman. In the bulpen, are they better than Minaya or Coulombe, both of whom the Twins could've kept. At this point you are looking for someone who can contribute better than any other minor league arm for 2022, and are they deserving of staying in the organization after that.

Mentioning the word "vaccinations" is NOT about politics. It is about health and safety - for yourself and those around you. That being said, let's move on. Would he contribute to the Twins pennant run? Is there a pennant run? I think we would be just as served with, say, Palacios as shortstop to see what we have before Martin & Lewis. Right now, we lack a leftfielder, too. Although Larnach is a prospect. Wallner is a prospect to watch. We have Arraez without a position. And there is no gaurantee that Miranda will open the season with the Twins as he has options options options remaining. Yes, I also don't want to see Polanco moved to short so we can play Arraez everyday. But what are the Twins to do with this luxury of riches everywhere but in positions that they really need players.

Stephen Gonsalves, after playing in the Red Sox system this past season, signed as a minor league free agent with the Cubs. Once a promising lefty rotation arm in the Twins system.

Looking back, I start to think about what my own salaries were in some of those seasons and how it has increased (or decreased) over the decades. How about you? Too often we forget that the majority of players really didn't make a lot of money for their limited careers in the very early days. FROM MLBTRADERUMORS: As we enter Day 1 of the MLB lockout, one key issue in the current labor negotiations is where the players’ minimum salary will land. Given the union’s stated goal to get players paid more when they’re younger and more productive, it stands to reason that they’re seeking a more significant increase than usual. The minimum salary was set at $570,500 in 2021. It’s not known how much MLB proposed raising it in their most recent offer. Here’s a look at how the minimum salary has changed with each new CBA. 1968: Minimum salary went from $6K to $10K, a 66.7% increase 1970: $10K to $12K, a 20% increase 1973: $13.5K to $15K, an 11.1% increase 1976: $16K to $19K, an 18.8% increase 1980: $21K to $30K, a 42.9% increase 1985: $40K to $60K, a 50% increase 1990: $68K to $100K, a 47.1% increase 1997: $109K to $150K, a 37.6% increase 2003: $200K to $300K, a 50% increase 2007: $327K to $380K, a 16.2% increase 2012: $414K to $480K, a 15.9% increase 2017: $507.5K to $535K, a 5.4% increase In the free agency era, the minimum salary had always increased by at least 15.9% until the just-expired CBA. There is historical precedent for a leap as high as 50%, which would mean $855,750 for 2022. An increase of 16% would be more in line with the ’07 and ’12 CBAs, which would set the minimum at $661,780. It should also be noted that the minimum salary typically increases each year within a CBA, with the ’20 and ’21 rates involving cost of living adjustments.

I would've done the 3-year contract the Cubs gave Stroman in a heartbeat. What gives with the Twins! Hey, Jon Lester is available, right? As well as Matt Shoemaker, Homer Bailey and Vance Worley! Heck, I would've been overjoyed if the Twins had again signed Rich Hill with the way things are going!

Danny Coulombe returns to the Twins on a minor league contract. Plus they signed Jacob Faria, past Tampa Bay prospect who could be a starter in reserve at St. Paul. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fariaja01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-

Larnach will start in the minors. Imagine Kirilloff will be in LF. The question is does Miranda come north or play everyday at St. paul to start the season. Rotate bench and such thru the DH. Sabo remains at 1B. All depends what the Twins eventually do for shortstop in 2022.

Well, Twins will be playhing musical chairs again DH will be Sano (fulltime, I hope) with Garver and Donaldson getting some play. I want to see Kirilloff at 1B. But who is in left field? Larnach can grab it in spring training, otherwise looks like Rooker. Then the decision is: does Celestino play everyday at St. Paul or is he the backup. Do the Twins just grab someone, anyone else, or do they feel they have enough in Gordon and Arraez as being the spare outfielders. Someday the Twins will have position players that just play a position. Let's start with at least 155 games by Buxton in centerfield!

A lot of guys MAY be signing minor league contracts, just to be ready when the season starts. Cave was purely a need to have a backup if they didn't sign Buxton. The Twins now have three roster spots. They still have some chaf on the roster that could be sent elsewhere if need arises: Cotton, Jax, Garza, Stashak, Thorpe, Rooker are all, right now, the 25th or 26th man on the current roster...if the Twins can find a couple of starters. Good to have three roster spots...but don't fill them with guys who won't contribute to the team in 2022 (and beyond) please.

Trevor Hildenberger, remember him, will be back in the minors with the Giants, trying to gat back to the majors.

GIVE HIM A CHANCE AS A PLAY-BY-PLAY BROADCASTER FOLKS. It takes time. He's trying really hard, doing the work. Remember Bert and Dan when theyt started out. HOF - No! Is Don Mattingly in the HOF?

Well goodbye to the recently one day claim/signing of Megill. Also, goodbye to Coulombe and Minaya, both pleasant surprises in the last half of the season out of the pen. Thought they would be worthy of some consideration, but also there is no need to give a million bucks to someone who might get bumped by a free agent signing and having no options. Let them play the amrekt and see if they might care to return, again, as minor league free agents. Andrew Vasquez cut loose by the Dodgers. Great K numbers, still only 28. Would he come abck to Minnesota and be St. Paul depth again? John Curtiss also cut lose by the Brewers. Tough break for the guy last year. He'll be on some watch lists as he recovers from his arm injury.